Visiting time statistics

Abstract

Many mixing dynamical systems $(X,T,\hat{I}¼)$ are known to satisfy the hitting time statistics result \[ \lim_{r \to 0} μ\{\, x : τ_{B(y,r)} (x) > t/μ(B(y,r))\,\} = e^{-t}, \] for $\hat{I}¼$-almost every $y$, where $\ddot{I}{„}_{B(y,r)}(x)$ is the first hitting time of $x$ to the ball $B(y,r)$. Taking a different point of view, we fix $x$ and consider $\ddot{I}{„}_{B(y,r)}(x)$ as a function of $y$. We call this the visiting time of $y$ from $x$, i.e. the time it takes for $y$ to get a visit from $x$ within a neighbourhood of radius $r$. We prove that \[ \lim_{r \to 0} μ\{\, y : τ_{B(y,r)} (x) > t/μ(B(y,r)) \,\} = e^{-t}, \] for $\hat{I}¼$-almost every $x$. As a byproduct we obtain a new method of proof for hitting time statistics.

26 pages, 1 figure